Airtime&Gravity

The dragon coaster is not the one that used to be there. The old one was powered, and was moved to an indoor FEC in Minnesota which has since closed. The new dragon coaster probably came from one of the closed Dinorex locations as the layout and trains match.

I Don't Wanna Dance - Hey Monday

You can absolutely base a case on nothing but circumstantial evidence. It happens every single day and there is nothing at all wrong with that. Circumstantial evidence is, technically, no better or worse then direct (eye witness) evidence. It's just a different type of evidence. In fact I can tell you that given my options I may actually take a case of all circumstantial evidence over a case of all direct evidence. I know you can base a case off of circumstantial evidence, I was just under the impression that it was more difficult. I was under the impression that the prosecutors had a strong case until I heard more of what had gone on after Casey was found not guilty. I thought there was direct evidence presented, and I thought the circumstantial evidence was incriminating enough to get a guilty verdict. However, because it was all circumstantial evidence, the defense was able to give reasonable doubt.

Link

Sterilize her with some cyanide! Why must we kill people who kill people to show people killing people is wrong? I was surprised with the verdict at first, but after learning how weak the prosecution's case was, the correct verdict came back. Both sides were horrible during the trial, but since the prosecution couldn't prove beyond a reasonable doubt, there was no choice for the jury. You can't base a case on just circumstantial evidence, and even if everyone is saying Casey's guilty, the jury could only listen to the evidence, which was weak. As has been said, it looks like the prosecution focused on making Casey look crazy, which she might be, but that doesn't by itself make her a killer. It would just make her a bad parent.

The triple down was the only part between the first drop and brakes that I found fun. The ride was just very brutal and unenjoyable, but hopefully the Timberliners will fix that when they are put into service. I can see why people like it so much when running well, but it was just horrible when I rode it. Although, it seems like Voyage hasn't been running up to its potential lately, so hopefully Holiday World, in addition to getting the Timberliners to work, also works on some retracking. The turnarounds were particularly brutal, so if those were fixed, the ride would already be far superior to how it was when I rode it. As for their next coaster, if it really does end up being a steel coaster, I doubt it would be a mega-lite or any other Intamin coaster. I could see a euro-fighter, custom spinning coaster, or a custom X-car coaster being built though. If they decide to build some more rides instead, I could see Holiday World build a star flyer or splash battle.

Cornball Express yesterday, and it finally lived up to its reputation. While aggressive, the airtime was incredible, and it was a really fun ride.

You would have lost your money if you invested a few years ago. I invested $100 when they were trying to reorganize, but lost it when they went bankrupt. I'm now trying to decide if I want to invest in it again, as they are doing really well, but their current stock price is a little high with how much I'm willing to spend in total. I understand that Six Flags is a business, but I just hope they find a way to increase guest happiness, improve the parks, but still manage to keep in strong financial shape. It might take a few years, but I can dream.

The Department of Labor regulates working conditions here, and there is a required minimum wage. The only incident I can think of that comes close to what you described is when Cedar Fair got in trouble with child labor law violations a few years ago. Although, 7.5 Euros is probably around, if not better pay than you'll receive working in American parks. Then again, taxes are a lot higher, so it probably works out to the same pay post taxes.

You can take a bus from either Schaumburg or Rosemont. The bus leaves around 9:00A.M, and will pick you up again at 10:15PM. The bus leaves Rosemont from the CTA station, so depending on where you stay, that is probably the best option. The bus is only available Friday-Sunday though. http://www.pacebus.com/sub/espd/six_flags_express.asp

Jet Lag - Simple Plan

The report on the 2010 season has been released. Full Report While I might be biased, I was shocked to see SFGAM have the third highest percent change in attendance in North America after Islands of Adventure and Universal Hollywood with a 10.2% increase in attendance.

Great photos and report. I grew up going to this park, and even though I only remember it in its rundown form, I was sad to see it close. It's great to see the park come back, and amazing to see how much work was done in a relatively limited time. Some areas, and especially the paths, look like they could still use some work, but the park looks far better than it did before it closed. From other photos I've seen, the park appears to be doing fairly well, and hopefully the crowds don't die off once the newness goes away. Even with the paintball and other attractions, there is still a lot of room to expand(the property goes a ways back into the forest), and it'd be nice to see the park turn into a nice local park. A park down in Utica bought some of the old rides in the hopes of building a new Santa's Village, but as nothing happened, I wonder if some of the rides will find their way back to their original home.

From the layout, it looks like it will be a spinning coaster. While it looks a little on the short side, the ride still looks like a lot of fun, and hits nice to see the approval for this coaster went a lot easier than Falcon. That turnaround after the first drop looks like it could be insane if taken at the right speed.

After my visit today, I take back what I said about the staff after my last visit. The staff was back to being what is to be expected at SFGAM with energetic staff and great operations, despite the weather. I'd even go as far to say as the staff was better than usual, with amazing operations on Viper and Raging Bull. The people working these rides were working very fast and helped the light crowds move quickly. Even at Dark Knight, what would appear to be a long line for a mouse (the line was to the area right after the turn in the queue after the control room after the pre-show room) moved very fast. Great job, and hopefully the staff keeps up the good work. Outside the rides, the staff was also great with all of the smiling, saying "Have a Six Flags Day", etc., and it just shows how the staff can make or break a park. After seeming dirtier than usual on my first visit, the park was once again back to being very clean. One downside is that they have gone back to playing "I like to Move It" every hour, but if it helps keep the park clean, then I don't have a problem with it. While I'm still not a fan of the go-karts placement, the area looks 1000x better now that some grass has been planted. It still looks bad with two different fence colors, and hopefully some trees are planted in the future to fill the area in.

Crowds should be light. The only time crowds haven't been in my experience with the park was the Sunday of Labor Day weekend last year. Even on July 4, the park has been pretty light on crowds. Either one would be good. Crowds would probably be even lighter on Monday. You probably won't need one anyways. Most of the coasters have maybe a 15min max, and with the only exceptions being Pandemonium, American Thunder(sometimes) and Mr. Freeze. However, the wait should be no longer than 30mins max for those two/three(providing crowds aren't like what I experienced on Labor Day Sunday). The water rides should have waits, but unless it is crowded and hot, the waits should still be fairly short. The only ride that seems to have consistently long rides is the Scooby Doo Ghostblasters. Other than that, the flat rides seem to have little to no wait. I've never done the water park due to time issues, but from what I've seen of it, it looks very nice. It certainly isn't the largest water park, but it looks like it could be a nice way to spend a couple of hours if it is hot out. Have fun at the park. Six Flags St. Louis is my favorite Six Flags park, and providing you visit on an average day, you should have a great time.

I went to the park today, and I'm not sure what to think. On one hand, it's early in the season, so the unfinished feel should go away soon. On the other hand, the park seems to have taken a few steps back. From today: Operations seemed to be between slightly below normal at best to bad. I know it's cold, raining, and early in the season, but that is no reason to limit operations, especially when the park is filled with middle to high school kids for a band/choir competition. The lines were small until around noon, and then the lines suddenly got pretty long, especially for this early in the season. American Eagle's queue was maybe 30mins max, Raging Bull, and Superman had long queues, and Whizzer's queue area was almost full. I hate the placement of the go-karts. The whole area is really open, and aesthetically looks really bad. The park couldn't even use the same fence around the ride. The whole area looks thrown together without much care. I used to like the area as it was relatively quiet and relaxing. Little Dipper fit in well, and it was just a nice area of the park. Now, it is probably the worst area by far in the park. Also, does it really take 12 people to operate the go-karts? I know it just rained, but, from what I could tell, only 3 or four people were drying the track. Many of the employees seemed to lack any enthusiasm. I know it's early in the season, your cold, and it's raining, but take some pride in your job. However, American Eagle and Raging Bull had great ride crews. They were working quickly and had a lot of enthusiasm and energy. The new water park is looking great. The location is really eye catching from the parking lot, and it looks a lot better in it's location than I thought. The slides also look a lot larger than I originally thought with the "looping slide" looking terrifying. The loop on then is very small, and it should be great. I'm not a big water park person, but I really want to try the new offerings out now even more than I previously did. As usual, prices continue to rise, but nothing outrageous. There are still many of the franchises in the park, even Johnny Rockets. The new pizza is also good. It's no Lou Malnati's, but it's a lot better than what was there before. There is now a season parking pass entrance at the south entrance to the park.

F.M.S.T.A.T.I.C. - FM Static

According to Indiana Beach's Facebook, the new name for the Yo-Yo is Shafer Swings. IB's Facebook

Indiana Beach has put a poll for what the new name of the Yo-Yo will be. You have until Friday to vote for the names which are: Ideal Swings, Cornado, Shafer Swings, or Crop Circles. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/77PP2JN

Juliet - Army of Freshman

Did you read the article? I'm guessing not! If you did you would know that the name is not coming from a materialistic and jingoist American, but a foreigner of Middle Eastern descent. I did read it, that part just never registered. Well, after making my self look like an idiot, I still stand by the part of my post about not liking the name. It may have significant meaning to the mall's owners, but it just sounds odd. Edit: Actually, you were partially right. I didn't read the article posted to this site. The article I did read on the project update didn't mention it, hence why it didn't register.

Fox News has posted some renderings. Link I'm not a fan of the name as it sounds incredibly trite. I'm all for patriotism, but "American Dream" as the name of the mall just sounds horrible. Then again, we are a materialistic culture, so I guess it makes sense it that sense. I wasn't a fan of the name "Xanadu", but at least that was unique. Hell, I'd take Medowlands Center or Mall of/at the Meadowlands. Rant Over I really like the new theme park that is going to get built. The architecture of the addition looks great, and it looks like something you'd find in Europe, Dubai, or China, not America.

The Azoosment Park has listed the new for 2011 rides, and one of them will be a new coaster. Granted it will just be a children's coaster, but it's great to see the park growing. Link

^If you look at the layout, it launches into the loop. After the dog tongue and corkscrews, the ride reenters the building. The lift hill isn't encountered until later in the ride with the immelmann, dive loop, and over-banked/inverted turn ending the ride.